Questions

History
1) What was the name of the league Arsenal played in during World War 1?
2) Which Arsenal player won 78 caps for England playing cricket?
3) What was the transfer fee that Arsenal paid for Malcolm Macdonald?
4) In 1936, the BBC broadcast their first ever live game. Who were Arsenal’s opponents?
5) What did Arsenal become the first club to do in 1992/93?
6) How many times have Arsenal won the FA Cup Final in Cardiff?
7) In 1918, the US Navy played Epsom in what sport at Highbury?
8 )In what year did Arsene Wenger claim “It’s not impossible to go through the season unbeaten”?
9) What was the name of Arsenal’s official 1998 FA Cup Final song?
10) What is the real name of Highbury?

Nicknames
1) Whose nickname was Mr Arsenal?
2) Whose nickname was Ralph?
3) Whose nickname was Rocky?
4) Whose nickname was Sid?
5) Whose nickname was Iceman?
6) Whose nickname was Geordie?
7) Whose nickname was Safe Hands?
8) Whose nickname was BFG?
9) Whose nickname was Le Professeur?
10) What was the Highbury nicknamed?

Defenders
1) How many games did David O’Leary play for Arsenal?
2) How many league titles did Tony Adams captain Arsenal to?
3) Who captained Arsenal’s 1971 double winning team?
4) Which defender became the first Arsenal player to captain England in 1934?
5) Prior to Ian Wright joining the club, which defender was Arsenal’s regular penalty taker?
6) Which overly eager 21 year old took out Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger whilst on trial?
7) What shirt number did Sol Campbell wear in his 1st spell at the club?
8) Martin Keown had 2 spells at Arsenal. What two sides did he play for between?
9) Who did Arsenal buy off Crystal Palace for £1million and Clive Allen?
10) Who turned up to Gilberto Silva’s daughters birthday party wearing a tiger suit?

1930’s
1) How many times did Arsenal win the Football League during the 1930s?
2) In 1931, Arsenal won 9-1 – our biggest ever victory at Highbury. Who were the opponents?
3) Which was the only side of Highbury that the clock was not positioned on during the 30s
4) Who took over as caretaker manager after Herbert Chapman died?
5) Which Third Division team knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1933?
6) Which player joined Arsenal in 1938 for a world record transfer fee of £13,000?
7) Which French team did Arsenal play in November every year throughout the 1930s
8) Which Arsenal goalkeeper scored in the game against Everton in March 1935?
9) During what season was Gillespie Road station renamed Arsenal and white sleeves were introduced to the Arsenal home kit?
10) Other than Highbury, on which ground did Arsenal twice win the Football League?

First and Last
1) Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry’s first league goals were all against which team?
2) Who scored Arsenal’s last competitive goal at Highbury?
3) Who scored Arsenal’s first competitive goal at the Emirates?
4) Arsene Wenger’s last game in charge was against which team?
5) John Jensen’s first and last goal for Arsenal was against which team?
6) Who scored our last goal in front of a terraced North Bank at Highbury?
7) Tony Adams played his first game for Arsenal in 1983. Who were the opponents?
8) At 33 seconds, which Arsenal defender became the quickest player to be sent off on debut against Birmingham in 1997?
9) Liam Brady’s last game for Arsenal was against which team?
10) Who scored our first ever goal in an FA Cup Final?

I also played for…
1) Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Chelsea
2) Brentford, Caen, Le Harve, Dundee, Chelsea
3) ASEC Mimosas, Bereven, Galatasaray, Sunderland
4) Schalke, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, VFB Stutgart
5) Notts County, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Beijing Guoan
6) Marseille, AC Milan, Crystal Palace, Getafe
7) Wimbledon, West Ham United
8) West Ham, Blackburn Rovers
9) IFK Eskilstuna, Stabæk, Brentford
10) Stoke City, Torquay United, Sunderland

Who is a naughty boy?
1) Who famously got in trouble after letting off a fire extinguisher in a Hornchuch pizza resturant?
2)In 1995 who was fined $4000 after pleading guilty to punching a mini cab driver in Hong Kong ?
3) Which former player was convicted of keeping a brothel ?
4) Who was jailed for conspiracy to produce counterfeit money ?
5) Which player ended up in court over a stolen bag at an airport ?
6) In 1990 which player went to jail after drink driving?
7) On 17 September 1988 Paul Davis broke whose Jaw?
8) Who was the Norwegian agent that George Graham took an “unsolicited gift” from?
9) In Feb 2014 who got into trouble for bringing model Celia Kay to his room the night before a game?
10) Which Scottish international was banned for life by his country before he had even played a game?

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Answers

History
1) What was the name of the league Arsenal played in during World War 1? London Combination
2) Which Arsenal player won 78 caps for England playing cricket? Denis Compton
3) What was the transfer fee that Arsenal paid for Malcolm Macdonald? £333,333.34p
4) In 1936, the BBC broadcast their first ever live game. Who were Arsenal’s opponents? Arsenal reserves
5) What did Arsenal become the first club to do in 1992/93? Win the League Cup & FA Cup in the same season
6) How many times have Arsenal won the FA Cup Final in Cardiff? 3
7) In 1918, the US Navy played Epsom in what sport at Highbury? Baseball
8 )In what year did Arsene Wenger claim “It’s not impossible to go through the season unbeaten”? 2002
9) What was the name of Arsenal’s official 1998 FA Cup Final song? Hot Stuff
10) What is the real name of Highbury? The Arsenal Stadium

Nicknames
1) Whose nickname was Mr Arsenal? Tony Adams
2) Whose nickname was Ralph? Lauren
3) Whose nickname was Rocky? David Rocastle
4) Whose nickname was Sid? Freddie Ljungberg
5) Whose nickname was Iceman? Dennis Bergkamp
6) Whose nickname was Geordie? George Armstrong
7) Whose nickname was Safe Hands? David Seaman
8) Whose nickname was BFG? Per Mertersacker
9) Whose nickname was Le Professeur? Arsene Wenger
10) What was the Highbury nicknamed? The Home Of Football

Defenders
1) How many games did David O’Leary play for Arsenal? 722
2) How many league titles did Tony Adams captain Arsenal to? 4
3) Who captained Arsenal’s 1971 double winning team? Frank McLintock
4) Which defender became the first Arsenal player to captain England in 1934? Eddie Hapgood
5) Prior to Ian Wright joining the club, which defender was Arsenal’s regular penalty taker? Lee Dixon
6) Which overly eager 21 year old took out Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger whilst on trial? Kolo Toure
7) What shirt number did Sol Campbell wear in his 1st spell at the club? 23
8) Martin Keown had 2 spells at Arsenal. What two sides did he play for between? Aston Villa & Everton
9) Who did Arsenal buy off Crystal Palace for £1million and Clive Allen? Kenny Sansom
10) Who turned up to Gilberto Silva’s daughters birthday party wearing a tiger suit? Emmanuel Eboue

1930’s
1) How many times did Arsenal win the Football League during the 1930s? 5
2) In 1931, Arsenal won 9-1 – our biggest ever victory at Highbury. Who were the opponents? Grimsby Town
3) Which was the only side of Highbury that the clock was not positioned on during the 30s? The East side of the ground
4) Who took over as caretaker manager after Herbert Chapman died? Joe Shaw
5) Which Third Division team knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup in 1933? Walsall
6) Which player joined Arsenal in 1938 for a world record transfer fee of £13,000? Bryn Jones
7) Which French team did Arsenal play in November every year throughout the 1930s? Racing Club de Paris
8) Which Arsenal goalkeeper scored in the game against Everton in March 1935? Frank Moss
9) During what season was Gillespie Road station renamed Arsenal and white sleeves were introduced to the Arsenal home kit? 1932-33
10) Other than Highbury, on which ground did Arsenal twice win the Football League? Stamford Bridge

First and Last
1) Ian Wright, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry’s first league goals were all against which team? Southampton
2) Who scored Arsenal’s last competitive goal at Highbury? Thierry Henry
3) Who scored Arsenal’s first competitive goal at the Emirates? Gilberto Silva
4) Arsene Wenger’s last game in charge was against which team? Huddersfield Town
5) John Jensen’s first and last goal for Arsenal was against which team? QPR
6) Who scored our last goal in front of a terraced North Bank at Highbury? Ian Wright
7) Tony Adams played his first game for Arsenal in 1983. Who were the opponents? Sunderland
8) At 33 seconds, which Arsenal defender became the quickest player to be sent off on debut against Birmingham in 1997? Jason Crowe
9) Liam Brady’s last game for Arsenal was against which team? Middlesbrough
10) Who scored our first ever goal in an FA Cup Final? Alex James

I also played for…
1) Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Chelsea – Petr Cech
2) Brentford, Caen, Le Harve, Dundee, Chelsea – Graham Rix
3) ASEC Mimosas, Bereven, Galatasaray, Sunderland – Emmanuel Eboue
4) Schalke, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, VFB Stutgart – Jens Lehmann
5) Notts County, Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Beijing Guoan – Nico Yennaris
6) Marseille, AC Milan, Crystal Palace, Getafe – Mathieu Flamini
7) Wimbledon, West Ham United – Nigel Winterburn
8) West Ham, Blackburn Rovers – John Radford
9) IFK Eskilstuna, Stabæk, Brentford – Paul Davis
10) Stoke City, Torquay United, Sunderland – Steve Bould

Who is a naughty boy?
1) Who famously got in trouble after letting off a fire extinguisher in a Hornchuch pizza restaurant? Ray Parlour
2)In 1995 who was fined $4000 after pleading guilty to punching a mini cab driver in Hong Kong ? Ray Parlour
3) Which former player was convicted of keeping a brothel ? Peter Storey (6 months suspended)
4) Who was jailed for conspiracy to produce counterfeit money ? Peter Storey (3 years)
5) Which player ended up in court over a stolen bag at an airport ? David Hillier
6) In 1990 which player went to jail after drink driving? Tony Adams
7) On 17 September 1988 Paul Davis broke whose Jaw? Glenn Cockerill
8) Who was the Norwegian agent that George Graham took an “unsolicited gift” from? Rune Hauge
9) In Feb 2014 who got into trouble for bringing model Celia Kay to his room the night before a game? Olivier Giroud
10) Which Scottish international was banned for life by his country before he had even played a game? Willie Young

So UEFA have apparently informed leagues that “null and void” is off the table. That a final league table must be produced to satisfy European placing.

What are the options?

Completing the season

The Premier League are pushing to complete the season behind closed doors. This is the best way to keep the integrity of the game.

Premier League rules are clear on what a season is:

C.1. Each Club shall play two League Matches against each other Club each Season, being the Home Club in respect of one such League Match and the Visiting Club in respect of the other.

C.4. The position of Clubs in the table shall be determined by the number of points scored in that Season, the Club having scored the highest number of points being at the top of the table and the Club having scored the lowest number of points being at the bottom.

Any other way of completing the season goes directly against the Premier League’s own rules. Rules which every club agrees to before each season begins.

The problem the Premier League faces is if they finish the season without every team playing every other team home and away, they will face legal challenges.

But completing the season will not be easy.

For a start, it must be completed by the 30^th of June.

June 30^th is important as this is when players contracts expire; and on July 1st^, players that have agreed to join a new club become official players.

So games played beyond June 30^th will exclude players whose contracts have expired. The likes of Willian, Jan Vertonghen, David Silva, Ryan Fraser, Adam Lallana, Olivier Giroud and Pedro.

A resolution would not be simple. These players have contracts. UEFA (or the Premier League) could not simply say “we are extending every players contract by 1 month”.

For a contract to be valid their must be an offer and an agreement. A player would be in their right to turn down the contract.

There is also a problem for those players who have agreed to join a new club.

They would have signed contracts with that new club beginning of 1^st July. So after 30^th June, their contract with their current club would not be valid.

Why would a player agree to a temporary contract to remain at his current club if his new contract is at double the salary?

Then you have incoming players. Hakim Ziyech for Example.

Ziyech has agreed to join Chelsea from 1^st July. If the season goes beyond July, would he be eligible to play?

The answer is yes (at the moment).

From 1^st July, the player will be contracted with Chelsea, and the club would have submitted a valid registration to UEFA (or FIFA?).

The only rule that would stop him playing would be if he has already played for 2 different clubs in the same season. Ziyech would fall outside of this as he has only have played for Ajax. Chelsea would be his second club.

Any move by UEFA to bloke him from playing would see a legal challenge similar to that of the Bosman ruling. It would be a restriction of trade.

So we could be in a scenario where games played beyond June  involve sides that have different squads to what we have now.

Imagine the scenario where Arsenal complete a deal for Thomas Partey and he drives the club forward into the Champions League. Would that be fair?

Health is also a major issue.

Government on self-isolation will remain for some time.

Players and staff will be tested daily. This will mean positive tests for COVD19 even when there are no symptoms. In turn this will result in the individual player, and those who they have been in close contact with being self-isolated.

Remember Arsenal’s game against Manchester City was postponed due to Arsenal players being in self-isolation.

So let’s say Arsenal play Watford on a Saturday. On Sunday Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tests positive for Covid19. That would mean most Arsenal players would have to self-isolate for 7 days.

With the Premier League hoping to play 3 games a week, that would be 3 games Arsenal would be without key players for.

Do the Premier League suspend the game (the match v Man City set a precedent), or do they treat the virus like any other illness and instruct Arsenal fulfil the fixture with players who are not self-isolating.

Watford players would also likely have to self-isolate for 7 days, as they all would have been in close contact with Aubameyang.

And we have not even begun players having to return to training to get fit for the remaining games – the earliest this could be is the 11^th May.

Players will need a couple of weeks to get fully fit. So it is likely all games would have to be played in June to complete the season. A logistical nightmare.

Completing all games is the only way fair way to get final league table. But there are so many factors to be taken into account.

From players contracts through to how the league reacts to an outbreak in a club. Can they really fit 9 games into June?

Points per game

If the season can not be completed, the Premier League ‘s 2^nd choice is points per game.

This would see Arsenal move above Tottenham into 8^th, Sheffield United move above Wolves into 5^th.

If they also used it for relegation, it would see no change in the bottom 3.

But is this fair?

You could have a scenario at the top where Chelsea, in 4^th, have a tough last 9 games of the season, whilst Arsenal in 10^th have a relatively easy run in.

Arsenal finishing 4^th is not impossible.

Likewise at the bottom Aston Villa have a game in hand on those teams above them. Win that and they would be 16^th.

Arsenal also have a game in hand on many of those above them. A 3-0 win could see Arsenal move up into 6^th place.

How can you have a league table based on current average points when 1 win either way could have big changes in the final league?

Points per game would go completely against the integrity of the competition.

Play-Offs

UEFA’s preferred option is to have play-offs for European places.

You could take the league table as it is now and take the bottom 6 and have them play off for relegation.

Brighton in 15^th are only 2 points ahead o Bournemouth in 18^th, whilst they are 5 points behind Southampton in 14^th.

It would be fair to assume that those from Brighton down are in the relegation battle.

Brighton (15^th) v Norwich (20^th); West Ham (16^th) v Aston Villa (19^th) and so on.

Have one off games – no home and away – with the team higher playing at home. Whoever wins stays up. Whoever loses go down.

That leaves the top 14 in the league. There are 7 European places (4 Champions League, 3 Europa League).

You repeat the process with Liverpool (1^st) at home to Southampton (14^th), Manchester City (2^nd) at home to Newcastle (13^th) and so on with Sheffield United (7^th) at home to Tottenham the final fixture).

A one off fixture then establishes who is in Europe next season.

At this point you will know the 7 teams that will be in Europe next season.

The best way to then work out who should be in the Champions League and who in the Europa League would be a 2^nd round of play-off games.

The highest ranked team in the league that has won their play off gets a bye into the Champions League – with the remaining 6 teams playing a one-off game to decide the other 3 Champions League teams.

The remaining 6 teams would play each other in the same way the original play-offs where scheduled. The highest ranking team left would play the lowest, with the highest playing at home.

The winners would be in the Champions League, the losers in the Europa League.

This is probably the fairest way to assign European positions as

• Higher ranked teams get the advantage of playing lower ranked teams and;
• Higher ranked teams have home advantage

It would also mean that clubs would only need to full fill 2 fixtures to complete the season.

The Football League could also follow a similar format to decide promotion and relegation down to League 2.

The problem with a play off is it could result with Liverpool, who have already qualified for the Champions League, not making Europe.

Imagine the scenario where Liverpool are beaten at home by Southampton. Would it be fair for them to not be in Europe? Likewise Manchester City and Leicester City are 12 and 8 points ahead of Manchester United in 5^th place.

Manchester City would face Newcastle and Leicester City face Everton. Everton beating Leicester City would not be a huge shock.

Burnley (10^th) are not in a race for a Champions League place. But then Arsenal (9^th) up are.

Is it really fair that teams who do not even have a hope of a Europa League spot with 9 games to go then enter a play off where 2 victories would see them in the Champions League?

If Southampton won their next 2 games, they would be 10^th at best, not 4^th.

Reducing a 38 game season to 2 games does not feel right, especially for the likes of Leicester City, Sheffield United and Wolves who have battled so well this season to be 3^rd, 6^th and 7^th.

Play-offs would not give a “final league table” but would resolve, promotion, relegation and who is in Europe

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UEFA and domestic leagues face head aches. No matter how they decide to finish the season, someone will lose out, and there will be legal challenges = and that includes even if the season is made null and void.

Keenos

It was always going to be Mesut Ozil wasn’t it?

If one player was to go against the grain and reject Arsenal’s request of a 12.% pay cut, it was going to be the German. He was always going to be the one who would give the media the headlines, and the fans something extra to attack him with.

But perhaps we need to spend a little bit of time understanding Ozil’s position.

For a start, Ozil is a huge donator to charity:

• Last year that the Arsenal playmaker paid for 1,000 vital operations for children across the world
• Paid £240,000 to fund operations for sick children in Brazil
• Fed 100,000 homeless people at 16 refugee camps in Turkey and Syria
• Works with UK charity Ray of Sunshine who grant wishes to seriously ill children

On top of the headline stuff, he also often takes the time to meet and greet disabled fans at the stadium and recently sent a lot of kit and boots to a village in Kenya.

For Ozil, he has not needed a global pandemic to do something charitable. He has given throughout his career.

To great headlines, Premier League players made their first contribution to NHS Charities Together last week. They raised £4million.

Footballers have been widely praised for this initiative. But with the Premier League yearly wage bill being north of £1.5bn, their donation amounts to 0.26% of the total annual salaries players receive. Not even an average days pay.

I fully understand why many players were not willing to get involved in the drive to raise funds for the NHS when many of them already donate millions a year to causes across the globe.

The situation at Arsenal is not about players raising money for the NHS. It is players taking a pay cut to ensure the club does not run into financial hardship.

In the past, I have been critical of players seemingly being happy to hide. To take their full wages regardless of what damage it might do to the employer. That it almost felt like they would be happy if their employer could not longer pay them so that they could seek a move elsewhere – for free due to breach of contract.

I went as far as saying that Arsenal players that refuse to take a wage cut to save the club should never play for the club again. And I still believe that.

But I also understand when a player, whether that be Mesut Ozil or someone else, wants further clarification as to why they need to take a pay cut.

Players want to ensure that any pay cut is to ensure the future of their employer. Not just to save their employer a few quid.

Another key question they are asking is “what is the owner doing?”

Stan Kroenke has reportedly guaranteed to pump a significant amount, which will run into millions, into Arsenal to soften the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now if I was a player, I would be questioning what the form of this cash injection is.

If it is a loan, which is the most likely, I would be asking why the owner gets his money back (probably with interest) whilst the loss the players make will be permanent.

A player (or his agent) should be demanding Kroenke “inject cash” under the same terms that players are taking a pay cut. That if Arsenal do get Champions League football, he gets the money back. If Arsenal get no Champions League football, he writes off the debt.

At the moment, it seems like players are expected to take a hit. A pay cut which they may never receive the funds back from, whilst the owner will inject money into the club, but over time that money will be repaid to him.

Ozil is perfectly in his right to hold off agreeing to the pay cut whilst awaiting clarification for any concerns he has.

What should not happen is players take the burden of the financial loss. Their wage reduction should not relieve Kroenke of his obligation to the club. Kroenke should be injecting money into the club alongside the players taking a hit.

The players taking a pay cut ensures Arsenal continues to operate. That in turns ensures that the value of the club remains high, and therefore Kroenke’s investment does not drop. He will benefit hugely from Arsenal players taking a pay cut. And that is why he should also contribute, and importantly on the same terms.

It is very easy to jump on the Ozil bashing bandwagon, but think about your own job.

Would you be happy your employer asking you to take a pay cut to save your job, whilst the millionaire (or in Kroenke’s case billionaire) owner of the company does nothing?

If Kroenke injects money into the club, and Ozil still refuses to take a pay cut, he should never play for Arsenal again. But for now, lets not paint Ozil as a greedy Premier League footballer.

Ozil has not needed a pandemic to be charitable. He just wants clarification as to how exactly a wage cut will help the club.

Keenos